The rule for sequels has been in place for decades and it's pretty simple --
if you can't make it better, make it bigger. Just look at movies like Dawn of
the Dead (1979), The Road Warrior, and even Pitch Perfect 2 --
more actors, more locations, more action. Does this approach work? Sometimes.
The second film may not have the emotion or intimacy of its predecessor, but
something must be said for spectacle. Now, what about movies which take the
opposite approach? That list is much smaller. Goosebumps 2 assumes this
take on a sequel and the result is that rare sequel which one-ups the first
film.

Goosebumps 2 is set in the small town of Wardenclyffe, which became
famous due to the fact that Nikola Tesla did experiments there. (This fictional
town is a stand-in for the real Shoreham, New York.) Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor)
is obsessed with Tesla and is building a model of the scientist's famous tower
for his science project. However, Sonny must also contend with his mother, Kathy
(Wendy McLendon-Covey), and her tight schedule and his sister, Sarah (Madison
Iseman), who is brooding over her college essay. The good news is that Sonny's
best friend, Sam (Caleel Harris), is going to be staying with the family while
his parents are out of town. The two have a salvage service called "Junk
Brothers", and Sam is delighted when they get their first call. They find an
old, abandoned house, which is filled with odd junk. Much to their surprise,
they discover a trunk in a hidden corridor, which contains a book and a
ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy (voiced by Mick Wingert). It's not long
before Slappy has come to life and is demonstrating his powers to the boys. But,
Slappy has a sinister plan -- He wants to rule Halloween and will do so by
bringing all of the Halloween decorations to life. Can Sonny, Sam, and Sarah
stop him?

Not unlike 2015's

Goosebumps,
it takes a while for Goosebumps 2 to get going. The movie takes its time
in setting up the character, allowing us to get to know their personalities.
It's at this point that I'd like to stop the review and say kudos to
Goosebumps 2 for presenting us with likeable main characters. So many modern
films trot out jerks or snobs and then ask us to care for them when things get
rough. But, Sonny, Sam, and Sarah are pretty good kids (even thought Sarah skews
towards stereotypical bratty teenaged girl) and it's easy for us to want to go
on this journey with them. OK, as I was saying, the movie introduces the
characters, the town, and the importance of Tesla's tower. The movie also throws
us a curveball by having Slappy appear to be nice when the boys first find him.
He helps them with a bully and shows them some fun tricks. Isn't this the same
doll which was trying to destroy the world when we last saw him?

However, once Slappy puts his nefarious plan into action, the movie shifts
into high gear. The movie's conceit is a ingenious in its simplicity -- So many
people go overboard with decorating their front yards for Halloween (as
represented by Ken Jeong's character in the film). What if those decorations
came to life? While the first movie offered various monsters from the
Goosebumps books series, Goosebumps 2 brings us a variety of more
familiar creatures, such as ghosts, zombies, and spiders. The scene in which the
creatures come to life is very well done, most notably the monsters which grow
out of Halloween masks. I'm going to stop the review again to state that some of
these scenes really push the limit of the PG rating. Yes, Goosebumps 2 is
aimed at kids, and there's no blood or gore or real violence, but some of the
monsters here are decidedly creepy and I know that if I were a pre-adolescent
and saw this, I would never go near a Halloween mask again. And don't get me
started on how creative, yet creepy the spider is.

In the end, Goosebumps 2 is a fairly simple and straight-forward
movie, and this is what makes it work. While I enjoyed the first film for what
it was, the story there was pretty convoluted. Despite some major plotholes in
the first act (How did Slappy get to Wardenclyffe?), things are very streamlined
here and, again, the idea of Halloween decorations coming to life is a great
one. I can't believe that Jack Black opted to be in

The House With a Clock
in its Walls,
allowing him time to only do a brief cameo here. (Although, he does have a great
joke at the expense of It.)
The surprisingly creepy monsters aside, Goosebumps 2 is a fun family film
and a nice love letter to Halloween.

Goosebumps 2 sort of acts like the audience is supposed to be familiar
with Nikola Tesla on 4K UHD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The
film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an HEVC 2160p transfer
which runs at an average of 70 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing
no overt grain and no defects from the source materials. The colors look very
good and the image is never overly dark or bright. The team behind the film made
some wise decisions concerning the colors of the monsters, keeping everything
from being black or white. The depth works quite well and the level of detail is
very impressive. The Disc carries a Dolby Atmos audio track which runs at 48 kHz
and an average of 5.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects.
The mix really comes to life in the second half of the film, when the monsters
attack. We are treated to detailed stereo and surround effects, which place us
squarely in the middle of the action. The subwoofer could have been stronger,
but it does emphasize the movements of the larger creatures.

The extra features for Goosebumps 2 are found on the Blu-ray Disc
which is included here. We start with three DELETED SCENES which run about 2
minutes. This is followed by a 3 minute GAG REEL. "Thrills & Chills - The Making
of Goosebumps 2" (10 minutes) takes us behind the scenes to see how the
idea for a sequel was approached and how specific moments were created. "Meet
the Monsters" (9 minutes) examines the design and creation of the various
creatures seen in the film. "Science with Slappy" (11 minutes) is a five-part
segment in which the dummy demonstrates some specific scientific ideas through
experiments. "Slappy-Oke Sings Alongs" (4 minutes) has the dummy walking us
through three songs. "Junk Brothers - Call Now!" (1 minute) is fake commercial
for Sonny and Sam's company. "Slappy's Audition" (2 minutes) is exactly what it
sounds like.